Adventures in Asia: Basra, Iraq

From Kuwait City to the Iraq border is about 125 kilometres and there is no direct public transit. So, this morning I requested a Careem ride share to drive us from the hotel to the border. I was a bit worried the driver would be unwilling to do the trip, but he showed no concern and off we headed, out of the city and through the desert on quite good highway until about 90 minutes later we arrived at the border. I knew at the border we would need to find a bus that would transport us from the various security and passport checks and across the no man's land, but I was unclear where exactly we would find it. A taxi pulled up and the driver spoke broken English. I let him know we did not need a ride as we were trying to cross the border and then he proceed to tell me how to catch the bus and in the end said something to the effect of "hop in, I will take you there." Typically I do not like to do this type of thing, but the man seemed friendly and genuine and the bus stop he was pointing to was clearly not going to be an easy walk, so we got in and a few minutes later he pulled up right outside the bus door and dropped us off gratis. He did want me to take his number for "next time;" I do not expect a "next time," but I was happy to take his number to end the interaction in a pleasant way. 

There were about a dozen people on the bus, including a fairly large group of Iraqis who had evidently done significant shopping in Kuwait, and a trio of European tourists. There is a cash fare for the bus, but I had read that you can pay in US dollars (we had never taken out Kuwait dinar cash), which proved true. I handed the driver $10 and he gave me 1 dinar back, so I think the fare is 1 dinar per person. 

Anyway, soon after we boarded the bus took us to the first stop, where Kuwaiti officials stamped our passports; then we drove what was quite a distance across no man's land to the Iraqi side where our bags were scanned (women separate from men) and then we had a bit of a wait while Iraqi officials processed our e-visas and eventually stamped our passports. 

Then, we were walking out and into Iraq, about an hour after we had been dropped off on the other side by our rideshare. 

Just on beyond the archway in the photo above we met our guide, Karrar. I had found Karrar via Facebook and arranged our 4-day tour with him via WhatsApp. We are paying Karrar $1,100 USD for both of us which includes the guided tour, transportation, and four nights in hotels. Meals and entrance fees are on us. From the border Karrar drove us into Basra, about half an hour away. We checked into our hotel and freshened up briefly, then headed into Basra's old town. Across the canal is where we would eat lunch, at a place called Razoona Cultural Forum in English, so we stopped in there first for Karrar to order our lunch, and then did a walking tour of the old town.

Old Basra is known for its shanasheels, these wooden balconies. Many or even most of the buildings are in a state of poor repair, but several have been well restored. 

Karrar led us into one of the well restored homes which is now an art studio and gallery, and on the second floor we could look out one of the shanasheels. A group of girls were celebrating a graduation across the street.

We explored the streets of the old town for about an hour. 

In many places we saw evidence of southern Iraq's Shia majority. 

But until recently there were also thousands of Christians in Basra. Karrar pointed out this archway with lions on it as evidence that this was originally a home for a Christian family. 

At some point as we were walking one of us commented on a pleasant aroma and next thing we knew Karrar was knocking on a door and we were invited in for a short tour of a commercial bakery. They were making some sort of savoury pastries, it seemed.

We did not get to sample the bakery's products, but our lunch was pretty substantial so we certainly did not need more food. The feature, and what took an hour to cook, was masgouf fish, which southern Iraq is famous for. We saw some grilling during our walk.

We quickly realized though that meals in Iraq involve a lot of food, and the plates were literally falling off the table once all the food was served! These were just the appetizers!

After a relaxed, long, and filling lunch we got in the car and left the old town to go to a cafe/private museum a short distance a way. 

This was an eclectic place, obviously owned by someone who enjoys collecting all sorts of things! Some of these are things from Iraq's past--memorabilia from the Hashemite dynasty when Iraq had a king, for example--but there are items from all over the world. I imagine some of the collection has monetary value, but probably a lot more of it could be classified as "old junk" if it were not collected and on display like this. Anyway, it is an interesting place!

After touring the rooms housing the collections we sat for a drink in the cafe.

Our next stop for the afternoon was the bazaar. 

The bazaar was bustling and interesting as bazaars often are, but actually it was a Syriac Catholic church we visited that intrigued me the most. 

The church is obviously quite the attraction because there were dozens of people inside. Certainly most of the visitors appeared to be Muslim, but many of them were lighting candles and praying in this space they clearly recognized as sacred. 

After about half an hour in the bazaar and the church we walked along this canal towards the river.

Where the canal meets the river there is an amusement park and I suggested to Diana we might ride the Ferris wheel.

At the gate of the amusement park it was explained that we would need to pay both an entrance fee to enter the amusement park and a fare to ride the Ferris wheel. Neither price was exorbitant, but I was not terribly enthusiastic and inclined to pass, but then the gate attendants suggested they waive the entry fee, and so at that point it was an offer we could not refuse. An attendant came over to get the Ferris wheel running (no one else was riding it) and Karrar left us to have a private ride. 

I have to admit, the ride was a bit creaky, but not unduly so and it certainly gave us a nice view of Basra and the Al Arab River (which is what the river is known as after the Tigris and Euphrates merge north of Basra). The sun had now set, so the bridges and streets and amusement park were all well (and colourfully) lit.